Automatic flue blower



March 8, 1938. c, E, |DEN 2,110,364

AUTOMATICFLUE BLOWER Original Filed Aug. 6, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor Charles E .146

BJQMM Attarnqy March 8, 1938. c. E. lDEN 2,110,364

AUTOMATIQ FLUE BLOWER Original Filed Aug. 6, 19 28 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 24 0, Inventor llharl illian Marc 8, 1938. c, [DEN 2,110,364

- AUTOMATIC FLUE BLOWER I Original Filed Aug. 6, 1928 '3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5/ 5/ Charles 2.162612 I Attorngy Inventor Patented Mar. 8, 1938 PATENT I QFFEQE 2,110,364 AUTOMATIC FLUE BLOWER Charles E. Iden, Newark, Ohio, assignor to Diamend Power Specialty Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of lVIichigan Application August 6,

1928, Serial No. 297,772

Renewed January 22, 1937 Claims.

The present invention pertains to new and useful improvements in soot blowers and the same relates more particularly to an automatic mechanism for cleaning by fluid blast the heat ex- 5 change surfaces of a boiler, which heretofore has necessitated considerable time and expense in the removal of soot and other foreign matter which obviously reduces the efficiency of the boiler.

The present invention presents several novel improvements over Patent No. 1,561 004 issued to John T. Lemon on November 10, 1925. The principle involved in this invention is substantially the same as underlying the subject matter in the above patent, yet the same accomplishes numerous objects and advantages thereover.

An important object of this invention is to provide a novel means whereby the nozzles through which the air blasts are delivered are oscillated and wherein means associated therewith permits the more constant eflicient operation thereof than in devices similar in nature.

Another primary object resides in the provision of an electro-magnetically operable shut off valve in the fluid supply line operable in synchronism with the means for actuating the nozzle whereby the air supply will be shut off during such a cycle of operation.

Among the remaining objects of the invention provision is made for means whereby a closed circuit will be maintained to the electro-magnetically operated shut off valve during a predetermined interval of time, which interval of time is regulated by a dash pot structure in operable association with such closing means.

The present mechanism also presents means whereby the movement of the nozzle is reversed so as to confine the blasts of fluid within a cer' tain predetermined area.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 represents a side elevation partly in section of a conventional boiler structure equipped with the novel automatic blower mechanism,

Figure 2 represents diagrammatically and in partial sectional View certain details of the invention.

Figure 2A is a diagrammatic fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the structure shown in Figure 2.

Figure 3 is an outer side elevation of the ratchet means employed for oscillating the nozzle,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view showing the ratchet means in sectional View and taken substantially on the line 44 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the step down gear mechanism in mesh with the motor for driving the same,

Figure 6 is an end elevation of the step down unit,

Figure 7 is a sectional view through one of the 6 ball bearing eccentrics employed fordriving the nozzle,

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the eccentrics at substantially right angles to the section of Figure '7, and

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure '7 showing a slightly modified form of construction.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts one end of a conventional boiler structure is shown in the accompanying l5 drawings and designated by A.

The usual water tubes are located within the boiler in the usual spaced manner and between which the smoke from the firebox passes for heating the water circulating therethrough. A sleeve 2 is fixed to the inner end of a blower pipe l having a nozzle I and is provided with an external circumferential extending flange 3.

A packing gland '5 is keyed to the sleeve 2 by a set screw 4 which passes through a slot 4* in the hub of the packing gland while a coiled spring 5 is interposed between the flange 3 and said packing gland.

Referring now to Figure 2, an air storage tank 6 is replenished by a pipe line i extending from a compressor or the like. Any number of such storage tanks may be provided for supplying air through conduits 8 to a valve structure 9. This structure consists of a body I 0 having a relatively thick wall H at one end thereof.

. A shaft I2 is journaled through the wall I I and has a disc valve element l3 keyed to its inner end and adapted for snug contact with the inner side of the said wall H.

The ratchet wheel I4 is keyed to the outer end of the shaft I2, while the valve element i3 is formed with ,a port l5 registrable with ducts l6 extending through the wall ll.

Pipes l1 connect at one of their ends to the wall II and have communication with the ducts it while their opposite ends have communication with the blower pipes I,

The nozzle end of each pipe I! has a ratchet wheel l8 rotatably journaled thereon. The Wheel is provided with a collar l9 at one side, while .an annular wall 20 projects concentrically from the opposite face of the wheel and is adapted to engage over the flanged end of the sleeve-2 and a portion of the packing gland 4 in the manner as shown in Figure 4.

Q The wheel 18 is rigidly connected to the packing gland 4 by the employment of tie bolts 2|. A

lever 22 has one end journaled to the collar l9 while a pawl 23 is pivoted to the lever 22 slightly outwardly from the periphery of the wheel I8.

The pawl is of arcuate shape and tapered at each end, the respective ends being alternately engageable with the teeth of the wheel l8. A lug 24 projects outwardly from the pawl 23 and across the'outside face of the ratchet wheel I8 for engagement with the pintles 25-25.

These pintles may be engaged in any pair of the openings 26 to limit the oscillatory movement of the nozzle I. An arm 21 projecting from the pawl 23 in an opposite direction from the lug 24 has an equalizing spring 28 connected thereto.

For actuating the nozzle and other phases of the invention, a motor 29 is supported upon .a

suitable housing 30 is geared by a pinion 3| to a gear 32 on a drive shaft 33 journaled through the housing 30. A worm 34 keyed to the shaft 33 meshes with a gear 35 on a countershaft 36 for driving a worm 31 in mesh with a grooved gear 38 on a supplemental shaft 40.

A disk 4| at one end of the shaft is provided with an eccentrically disposed pin 42. An elongated shaft 43 is journaled through bearing members 44 secured to the boiler wall in the manner as shown in Figure 1.

The ratchet wheel keyed to one end of the shaft 43 is designated by numeral 45 and is operable between the yoked end 46 of a connecting rod 41, the opposite end of the connecting rod 41 being connected to the eccentrically disposed pin 42.

Apawl 48 is pivoted between the legs of the yoke 46 and is adapted for normal engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 45. At certain spaced intervals on the shaft 43 eccentrics 49 are arranged. a

The structure consists of a hub 58 eccentrically mounted on the shaft 43 and the rim 5 I, the rim and the hub being formed with grooves to provide a raceway for the ball bearing 52. A boss 53 is formed on the rim 5| andis formed with the split recess to receive one end of the connecting rod 54.

The opposite end of the connecting rod 54 is adapted to be connected to the free end portion of the lever 22 in the manner as shown in the drawings. I

'Interposed between the valve body I0 and the air supply conduit 8 is a valve body 55 provided with a partition 56 formed with a valve seat there in. A; piston 51 preferably provided with suitable packings is operable within the valve body 55 above the partition 56 and is provided with a depending tube 58.

This tube depends below the opening in the partition 56 and is provided with a valve structure 59 at its lower end seatable on the partition 56.

A housing 6|] is arranged upon the valve body 55 and has a solenoid 6| located therein. A valve memberBZ is normally seated within the lower end' of the tube 58 by the tension of the spring 63. A stem 64 extends from the valve member 62 and has its free end disposed within the magnetic field of the solenoid 6|.

On the shaft 43 the disk 65 is provided with a plurality of pintles 66 projecting at one side there- These pintles are adapted to successively engage the foot 61 of an elongated rod 68 which has a bearing in a suitable guide bracket 68. The upper end of the rod .68 is connected to a lever 69 which is provided with a pawl 10 engageable with the teeth of the ratchet wheel l4.

The time limit relay H has a plunger 12 operable within liquid or suitable matter within a dash pot. A rod 13 extends upwardly from the plunger and above the top of the dash pot, the same being provided with a head 14.

The top of the dash pot is provided with a pair of spaced upstanding arms 15l5 which are substantially V-shaped at their upper ends.

A lever 16 is pivoted adjacent one end to the top of thedash pot II and this end portion is adapted to engage in an elongated notch 13* in the plunger rod 13. A spring 16 tends to hold the lever 13 in .a substantially horizontal position so that this lever does not retard downward movement of the plunger rod 13 and is also always in position to be engaged by a lug 11 about to be described. It will be apparent that the spring permits a sufficient upward movement of the lever to permit passage of lug 11 past the lever during upward movement of the lug.

A contact member 18 on the rod 68 is .adapted to contact with the contact 19 located adjacent to the rod 68. In the operation of the present mechanism, the motor 29 drives the gears disclosed in Figure 5 which reduce theoriginal speed.

of the armature shaft so as to slowly rotate the shaft 43.

' The'slow rotation of the cams 49 is converted into reciprocatory movement of the connecting rods 54. The pawl 23 will cause the movement of the ratchet l8 and consequently the nozzle l until the lug 24 engages one of the pintles 25, whereupon the position of the pawl 23 is reversed, obviously resulting in the movement of the ratchet [8 in the opposite direction. i

In this manner the fluid blast is delivered over a certain predetermined area which may be varied by interchanging the pintles 25 with respect to the openings 26.

The rotation of disc 65 will effect an elevation of rod 68 by one of the pintles 66 and will effect a movement of ratchet wheel l4 to register port l5 of valve l3 with one of the ducts I6 for supplying cleaning fluid to one of the blower pipes. During this movement of the valve I3, valve 59 will be closed, by virtue of the fact that contacts 18 and 19 are arranged to be out of engagement at this time.

As the particular pintle passes from beneath the foot 81; the connecting rod '68 will drop, at which time contact 18 will engage contact 19 and rod 13 will be elevated by lever 16 to close the circuit between contacts 15-45. Thus a circuit will be closed through the solenoid 6| to effect an opening of small valve 62 which will permit air to pass to a point above the piston 51 whereby the main valve will be opened.

Obviously, when the main valve is opened, air will pass'to the body I0 and through one of the pipes H to one of the blower pipes I. The device H constitutes a timingmechanism for limiting the open position of main valve 59 to a predetermined time interval. Thus with the rod 68 in its lowermost position and member 14 bridging the gap between contacts l5-15, rod ,13 will move slowly downwardly, being retarded in its movement by the substance in the dash pot. Movement of the rod 13;.m'ay be regulated as desired and after a predetermined time interval member 14 will have moved sufliciently to break the contact between members 15-'l5 to thus de-energize the solenoid and permit valve 52 to close. The pressure above the piston will slowly be relieved whereupon the pressure of the air will close the main valve to cut off the supply of air to the body In before the next actuation of rod 68.

The contacts 18 and 19 provide means for insuring a breaking of the circuit through the solenoid upon raising of the rod 58 in the event that movement of the rod 13 has been retarded to too great an extent, while valve 59 controls the passage of air to the body It) so that air is supplied to each blower pipe for a portion only of the time that this blower pipe is connected to the body It] by the valve l5.

In Figure 9 a slightly modified form, of construction is shown which may be conveniently substituted for the eccentric hubs 50. Referring then more particularly to this figure of thedrawings, it will be noted that there is mounted on the shaft 43 a plurality of cams 90 which are spaced longitudinally of the shaft in a manner similar to the hubs 50. Each rod' 54 is provided at its lower end with a cup-shaped socket in which is mounted a ball 8| arranged to engage the periphery of the cam, as clearly illustrated in the drawings. Thus the rods 54' are reciprocated upon rotation of the shaft 43 by virtue of the engagement of the cams with the balls 8|.

For the sake of illustration, the invention has been described as being incorporated in a device for cleaning boilers. It will be understood, however, that the inventive principles may be incorporated in devices for cleaning apparatuses similar to boilers, and it is to be therefore understood that the term boiler, wherever used throughout the specification and claims, is to be construed as meaning a fluid heater or heat transfer apparatus of any character, while the term boiler cleaner is to be construed as meaning a cleaner for any such type of apparatus.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. In combination, a movable blower pipe, a valve for controlling the flow of cleaning fluid to said blower pipe, means for moving said blower pipe and for actuating said valve, and means controlled by said last mentioned means operating to cut off the supply of cleaning fluid to said valve during actuation of the valve.

2. In combination, a plurality of movable blower pipes, a header for supplying cleaning fluid to said blower pipes, a valve for successively placing each of said blower pipes in communication with said header, means for moving said blower pipes and for imparting a step by step movement to said valve and means actuated by said last mentioned means operating to cut off the supply of cleaning fluid to said valve during operation of said valve.

3. In combination, a plurality of blower pipes, a valve for controlling the flow of cleaning fluid to said blower pipes, means for actuating said valve, and means controlled by said last mentioned means for limiting the period of supply of cleaning fluid to each of said blower pipes to a predetermined time interval.

4. In combination, a plurality of blower pipes, a valve for controlling the flow of cleaning fluid to said blower pipes, means for actuating said valve, and means including an electrically actuated valve controlled by said first mentioned means for controlling the flow of cleaning fluid to said blower pipes independently of said first mentioned valve.

5. In combination, a plurality of movable blower pipes, a distributing valve for controlling the flow of cleaning fluid to said blower pipes according to a desired sequence, a movable shaft, mechanical connections between said shaft and blower pipes for moving the latter upon movement of said shaft, and a step by step operating connection between said valve and said shaft whereby said valve is actuated with a step by step movement in timed relation to the movement of said blower pipes upon movement of said shaft.

6. In combination, a plurality of rotatable blower pipes, a rotatable shaft, mechanical connections between said shaft and blower pipes for rotating the latter upon rotation of said shaft, a valve for controlling the flow of cleaning fluid to said blower pipes according to a desired sequence, and a mechanical connection between said shaft and said valve arranged to impart a step by step movement to the valve upon rotation of said shaft.

7. In combination, a plurality of rotatable blower pipes, a rotatable shaft, mechanical connections between said shaft and blower pipes for actuating the latter upon rotation of the shaft,

a valve for controlling the flow of cleaning fluid to said blower pipes, means for actuating said valve upon rotation of said shaft, and means actuated by said last mentioned means for limiting the period of supply of cleaning fluid to said blower pipes to a predetermined time interval.

8. In combination, a plurality of rotatable blower pipes, a shaft disposed adjacent said blower pipes, means for rotating said shaft, a plurality of eccentrics mounted on said shaft one of said eccentrics being provided for each blower pipe, means including a rod connecting each eccentric to its respective blower pipe, each rod being so connected to its respective blower pipe as to impart a step by step movement to the blower pipe upon rotation of the shaft, a header for supplying cleaning fluid to said blower pipes, a distributing valve for successively placing said blower pipes in communication with said header, means including a movable member for actuating said distributing valve from said rotatable shaft, and an auxiliary valve controlling the flow of cleaning fluid through the header to the distributing valve controlled by said movable member.

9. In combination, a movable blower pipe, a valve for controlling the flow of cleaning fluid to said blower pipe, means for moving said blower pipe and for periodically actuating said valve, and means for limiting the supply of cleaning fluid to said valve to the periods when the valve is not being operated.

10. In combination, a plurality of movable blower pipes, a valve for successively supplying cleaning fluid to said blower pipes, means for moving said blower pipes and for periodically actuating said valve, and auxiliary means operating to limit the supply of cleaning fluid to said valve to periods when the latter is not being actuated.

CHARLES E. IDEN. 

